Final take: Friday's loss of Iowa was a microcosm of Nebraska's season

Nebraska's 27-24 loss to Iowa on Friday delivered a little bit of everything.

We saw promise and potential from the Huskers, but we also saw the defense give up two big plays early and NU's special teams unit allow another kick return for a touchdown. There were killer self-inflicted errors down the stretch that allowed the Hawkeyes to give their All-Big Ten kicker a chance to win the game.

In the end, it was pretty much what we've seen all season from the Big Red. NU is seemingly close, but at times felt miles away in their 27-24 loss to Iowa.

It's a tough way to finish a season where the Huskers (5-7) were picked to win the Big Ten West. NU will not play in a bowl game for the third consecutive season. That hasn't happened at Nebraska since the 1955 to 1961 seasons.

That means another long month of December for the Big Red faithful and another year where an entire group of this roster has yet to experience a bowl game.

I asked NU head coach Scott Frost what his message will be to recruits starting on Sunday when he hits living rooms. On the surface, he faces a tough sell, but he remains very confident in the direction things are heading despite another trip home for the holidays.

“Just that it’s coming," Frost said of his message. "We all know it’s coming. The guys in the locker room know it’s coming, the coaches know it’s coming. There’s no timetable for it. Sometimes it happens quicker than you think, sometimes it takes a little longer.

"I know we’re doing the right things and getting the right guys in here, developing guys the right way, and it’s coming. I think we were in about six close games this year, and we went 2-4. Sometimes a little bit of confidence, a little bit of momentum, one more guy, one more play. There’s about four games you can point to one play and say if that play is different, that game’s different. We still have a long way to go, and at the same time, when you come up one play short in several games, you’re not that far away either. It’s coming, and I think people recognize that, and we’ll make sure the recruits recognize that too.”

It's a tough pill to swallow, but Nebraska has no one to blame but themselves. As Frost said this team easily could've won games earlier this year vs. Colorado, Indiana and Purdue. Friday's game with Iowa was in that same category. NU had possession of the football four times with a chance to take the lead when tied at 24.

The Hawkeyes (9-3) gave them every opportunity to win this game, including a late fumble when they were seemingly setting up a game-winning kick.

Credit Iowa's Kirk Ferentz though. He was aggressive down the stretch. With only one timeout and standing on his own 26-yard line with 32 seconds left, he turned his offense loose and let them win the game.

It's the second year in a row Ferentz went for the kill shot vs. going the safe route to play for overtime against Nebraska. It's worked both times, and they now have a commanding 6-3 lead in the Heroes Trophy series, winning the last five games in a row. Since former Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst questioned the level of Iowa's program, the Hawkeyes are 5-0 vs. the Big Red. Iowa also improved to 4-1 inside Memorial Stadium.

"We thought we might have a chance if we executed," Ferentz said. "There is some risk and reward involved there but we felt the reward was outweighing the risk.”

The reward for Iowa is a long winter where the neighbors to the East can rub another Hawkeye win in Huskers' face.

“Guys need time to breathe a little bit and I think that certainly means they need to reflect and look back on the season," sophomore quarterback Adrian Martinez said. "I think that’s important for our team learning, moving forward and when the time comes, we’re going to jump on it and get going fast.”

Now on to the breakdown...

***Nebraska ran 29 first-down plays on Friday for an average of 1.9 yards. A lot of NU's struggles vs. Iowa were right here. They didn't do enough on first down.

***Before Friday, Iowa had just one run of 40 yards or longer. They had 55 and 45-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter that really set the early tone of the game.

***We saw freshman Wan'Dale Robinson come in on the third play of the game, but he clearly wasn't himself. Robinson had three carries for 14 yards before they decided to sit him in the second half.

***Graduate transfer wide receiver Kanawai Noa did not get honored at Senior Day on Friday. Seems like there's more to his story than we probably know right now.

***Matt Waldoch once again got the nod at kicker, but Barrett Pickering still handled kickoff duties. It will be interesting to see what Pickering's future is going forward. He will be able to take a redshirt this season and still have three years of eligibility remaining. Will he be the guy next season? Can he shake the injury issues he had that turned the entire kicker position upside down in 2019? Will he be on this roster in 2020 if he's not the starter coming out of the spring? These are all valid questions right now.

***I thought wide receiver Kade Warner came up with two very timely catches on Friday.

***Dedrick Mills once again ran hard. I think he's poised for a breakout season in 2020.

***There's no question we are going to have a quarterback battle in the spring. I know they have been protective of Martinez this season, but in all reality, I expect there to be a pretty open battle between him, Noah Vedral, Luke McCaffrey and Logan Smothers. He just didn't do enough this season where you can say he's locked up the job to be the starter for a third year in a row. He's going to have to win it in an open battle this spring if he wants to be the guy in 2020. This is something a year ago right now I never thought I'd be writing. It's also hard to know how much of it is him and how much of it is the personnel around him?

***Both JoJo Domann and Cam Taylor-Britt have instincts you can't coach. The tipped pass by Domann that led to a pick-six interception by Taylor-Britt was a game-changing play. These guys, along with Collin Miller, Ben Stille, Will Honas, DiCaprio Bootle, Deontai Williams, Marquel Dismuke and Garrett Nelson will be the core of this defense in 2020.

***Darrion Daniels was only here for one season, but man will he be missed. He was a piece this defense didn't have a year ago vs. Iowa. He commanded so much attention in the middle that it open up space for Nebraska's linebackers to make plays.

Rushing offense: C

Nebraska struggled on early downs, and the QB run game didn't have the impact it needed for the Huskers to win this game. Both Dedrick Mills and Wyatt Mazour ran hard though, as they combined for 122 yards on 31 carries. The missing ingredient was the quarterback position, as NU needed about 80 to 100 yards from the QB to go with that 122 they got from the running back position.

Passing offense: D

Martinez's long completion went for 20 yards, and the Huskers, in general, didn't execute well enough in the passing game. There were far too many plays that went for negative or no gains on failed bubble pass plays in the flats.

Rushing defense: B-

Iowa had two big plays early, but after that Nebraska's rushing defense really settled in. After rushing for 148 yards in the first quarter, Iowa had just 73 rushing yard the final three quarters. NU adjusted and they really rallied around the football.

Passing defense: A

Iowa's long pass plays of the day were a couple of completions that went for 22 yards. The Huskers did a good job in this area, and they forced a pick-six that changed the game.

Special teams: D

The Huskers allowed another kick return for a touchdown, and they made mistakes in the return game. JD Spielman fielded a punt on the 2-yard line that probably was going to go through the end zone. The lone kick return NU decided to run out they only got to the 15-yard line. Isaac Armstrong also missed on a couple of punts that gave Iowa the football at midfield, but luckily the defense came up with some big plays.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET's Big Red Wrap-Tuesday's at 7 pm.